A simple question
by Brankinhovich.sama
Summary: "Otou-san, he saved me! I want to know why no one cares about him!" Hyuuga Hinata asked her father after being saved by Naruto from some bullies (the scene on 'The Last'). That question leads Hinata to learn more about Uzumaki Naruto and a promise she makes to help him achieve his dream of being the greatest Hokage ever! Slight AU. Canon pairings
1. Prologue: A fated meeting?

**Hello, I've decided to start with a Naruto fic. My feeling is that Naruto could be so much more than he is on the original timeline than just spamming two jutsus. On that moment of _The Last_ , I figured Hinata could have used it to try to impress our favorite blond! There won't be any major changes to the plot, and the pairings will be canon. Read and enjoy!**

 **The name of the jutsus will be in japanese and if needed I will use () to translate**

* * *

It was a peaceful winter day in Konoha. Snow was falling so it was a rare and beautiful thing to see. At the park, one small girl stood looking to the snow falling from the sky. She had dark-blue hair and was wearing a scarf. But the more intriguing characteristic of her was the eyes. Her eyes were as white as the falling flakes. Hyuuga Hinata was looking to the sky with a smile. It was her first time seeing snow. How could something as simple as really cold water falling from the sky be so beautiful, it was beyond her.

Suddenly, her mind came down to earth when she felt someone pull her scarf.

"Hey! I know you, you're that princess from school!" one of three boys shouted.

"O-oh. H-hello…" Hinata said nervously.

"Hey look, she does have weird eyes!" the same boy stated mockingly. The other two started to laugh.

"You're so weird, you freak!" the mocking continued. "I think I'll take that scarf from you!" They pulled the scarf from Hinata's neck and started to trow it to the ground and stepping on it.

"Pl-please stop…" Hinata felt tears coming to her eyes but a new voice stopped them.

"Oi! You idiots! Why don't you pick on someone who can defend himself?"

The 4 kids looked to the source of the voice. A boy with blonde, spiky hair stood on top of a bench. He had green goggles and three whisker marks on each cheek.

"Hey, I know who he is. He's that troublemaker from class!" one of the boys said.

"I'm not a troublemaker. My name is Uzumaki Naruto! Leave her alone or I'll make you regret it!" Naruto spoke confidently.

"Heh, do your worst, idiot! We're three and you're all by yourself!"

"Oh yeah, then how about this?" Naruto made some hand signs. " _Bunshin no Justsu!_ " ( **Clone Jutsu** ) a poof of smoke appeared next to Naruto. The boys flinched a little. They didn't know the troublemaker already knew jutsu!

But when the smoke cleared, only a groggy copy appeared. The clone couldn't even stand up and was even whiter than the snow.

The boys started to laugh. "Ahahahahah! Oh man, and here I thought you could do something as cool as…" he was silenced as Naruto punched him in the face, causing the boy to fall to the ground.

"It was a great distraction right?" Naruto asked. "Now come and get me!

* * *

Naruto was on the snowy ground. Even if he did train for a few hours every day after the Academy, it was still a 3-on-1 assault. And Naruto couldn't defend himself. Having beaten the blond boy, the 3 bullies decided they have had enough and were gone.

Hinata was on her knees, looking at the blonde who was just waking up. That startled Hinata, who instantly got up and went back a few steps.

"Those idiots… I'll have to train harder…" Naruto said as he stood up and looked at the girl. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yes. Th-thank you for helping me."

"It was nothing. I couldn't stand to see those jerks being mean to you." Naruto looked at the ground, where Hinata's now ripped scarf was. "Sorry I couldn't get here in time to save your scarf."

Hinata blushed a little. "O-oh, it was n-nothing."

Naruto took his red scarf from his neck and gave it to Hinata. "Here. You can take mine for now. It's cold so you could get sick."

"Eh? B-b-but…"

"Don't mind about me. I never get sick." the whiskered boy said with a smile. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Pleasure to meet you."

"I-I'm H-Hyuuga Hinata."

"Hinata-sama!" a voice came from the trees. A man appeared. He had the standard Konoha shinobi gear. He also had white eyes, like Hinata.

"Oh, Kõ-san! Where you looking for me?"

The now named Kõ nodded while looking at her. "Where did you get that scarf, Hinata-sama?"

"That boy gave it to me, because I lost mine." Hinata answered while pointing at Naruto.

Kõ looked at the whiskered boy with annoyance. He knew of the boy's secret. He also knew about the Sandaime's law about it. He decided to just ignore him. After all, there was no order from the Hyuuga clan head regarding him.

"Let's go home, Hinata-sama." Kõ said as he gave one final look at Naruto. Hinata noticed it. She knew Kõ could be a little overprotective, but there was more than that on that look. Almost like hatred. And she wanted to know why. But she knew her bodyguard wouldn't say anything, so she decided to ask her father. The boy did save her after all, why with all the mean looks?

* * *

A few days later, Hinata knew something strange was going on. She spent the days after the incident at the park stal- errr, following Naruto without the blonde's knowledge. And she was shocked to see that everyone in the village looked at him the same way. With hatred in their eyes. She decided to ask her father about it when she got home.

At the Hyuuga clan compound, Hyuuga Hiashi was signing some papers when a knock on her door took his attention.

"Otou-sama, can I enter?" his daughter's voice asked. Hiashi was surprised. He wasn't expecting her failure of a daughter to come and see him. Nonetheless, he decided to acknowledge the presence.

"Yes, Hinata, you may enter."

The girl entered her father's study a little nervous.

"What do you need, Hinata?"

"I-I wanted to ask you a question about someone."

Now that really surprised Hiashi. His daughter was very shy so she wouldn't ask anything about other people.

"What do you wish to know?"

"Well, a few days ago I lost my scarf. But a blond boy named Naruto lend me his. But I noticed that everyone looks art him with such hatred. Why?"

Hiashi was now fully surprised. He was not expecting to hear that her daughter was asking about the blonde boy. But he couldn't tell her the truth. The current law forbid it.

"Hinata, that boy is just trouble. You shouldn't go near him. You are a Hyuuga, you need to have social standards."

"But Otou-sama, h-he helped me! Y-You said that the basis of Konoha to help one another... If he is so much trouble, why did he help me in the first place?" Hinata asked again, trying to refrain her stutterness.

Hiashi was speechless. Ever since she was little, Hinata would always stutter in her words. And now she was practically talking back to him! ' _I find it had to believe that the boy is responsible for this. But his secret won't matter if Hinata awakens her Byakugan'_ , Hiashi tought making his decision.

"Hinata, I'm sorry but I can't answer your question. Sandaime-sama decreed a law a few years ago forbiding anyone to talk about this openly. I could be judge to conspire against the village if someone hears us." Hiashi made an uncharecteristic frown. "However, the approval of that law came with a price. You said you noticed that the villagers look at him with hatred. That is a backlash from the law. The villagers are ignorant and even the shinobi who do it are just unable to let go of the past." Hinata was listening very carefully. While she knew her father wasn't going to tell her openly, he was dropping some clues in his speech. "While I don't particularly care for the boy, I understand what he is going trough to an extent. I will go back on what I said. I don't mind if you talk to him, since he clearly helped you with that confidence issue we talked about. However, I cannot answer your question… But when you unlock your _Byakugan_ , I will arrange for an audience for you with Hokage-sama. Maybe he can explain." Hiashi finished.

Hinata had a somewhat confused look on her face, trying to understand all the information. Then she smiled. Hinata realized that the way she talked back was with a confidence she never knew she had. Had the blonde boy helped her in more ways than one? It was likely, she was thinking about how sorry she was for him. For now, Hinata was going to train. While she was seen like the black sheep of the clan, with no real talent, she knew that if Naruto could bear with all those looks with a smile, she could overcome this wall as well.

* * *

 **And there it goes. Yes it's short. This is just the prologue. It has much more Hinata because she is trying to figure out why no one is ever kind to Naruto. And no, this fic won't be like those where Naruto is physically abused (at least permenantly), but he will be ignored and looked by the village with hatred and disgust.**

 **Another thing I should mention is that Naruto will be the same age as everyone else. In my opinion, he just tried to graduate earlier than his class and failed for two times.**

 **Next chapter, we'll cover Hinata and Naruto's life at the Academy. The changes on Hinata's personality and her friendship with Naruto will cause some changes and something will happen on a very important date for Konoha. Read and review with your thoughts. Thank you ^^**


	2. Academy life! The promise of the Hokage

A few months have passed since the meeting in the park. Nothing out of the ordinary happened in Konoha. However, something very important happened at the Shinobi Academy. Hyuga Hinata, the heir to the most prestigious clan in Konoha, was apparently friends with one Uzumaki Naruto, notorious prankster and _persona non gratta_ in almost everywhere in the village.

Naruto was on his way to the Academy while thinking of the past few months. He considered himself lucky because after so many years alone, he finally had a friend! Sure, Hinata was a bit weird – her face would become red if Naruto was too close and every time he complimented her, she would almost faint. Naruto knew Hinata was from the Hyuga clan, maybe the rest of them were like her? He didn't knew and he thought it was something very personal to ask.

His friendship with the Hyuga girl also helped his training. His _taijutsu_ got better and he had a better chakra control. He couldn't still do the _Bunshin no Jutsu_ and he didn't understand why!

He also helped Hinata speak with less shyness. The Hyuga heir no longer stuttered in her speech. Hinata also helped Naruto in making a few more friends. Akimichi Choji, Inazuka Kiba and Nara Shikamaru always were kinda friendly to Naruto so he just needed to make the move and started talking.

"I wonder what we'll do today…? I want to try my luck against that Sasuke-teme. If I win, maybe all of the girls will look at me or maybe I'll have more friends like Hinata-chan!" he said to himself. He always tried to understand why Sasuke was such a jerk. He had everything Naruto wanted: fame, girls, money… He knew he didn't had a family anymore but he didn't know why. Were all Uchihas jerks or stuck-up assholes? Maybe he would talk to Hokage-jiji about it later today.

He arrived at his classroom and sit at his usual place. Top row, left corner, near the window. The only one next to him was Hinata. Sasuke was a row below him and, as usual, all of the female population of the classroom (minus Hinata) was looking at him with hearts in their eyes.

"Attention, class!" the teacher, Umino Iruka spoke. "Today, we will talk a little about the History of the village." A collective groan was heard. Iruka just smiled. "We will also do some chakra tests and after lunch we will have a small _taijutsu_ and _ninjutsu_ test. Yes Naruto?" Iruka asked as Naruto raised his hand.

"Iruka-sensei, will you buy me ramen if I win against Sasuke-teme?"

Everyone laughed. "You think you can defeat Sasuke-kun, loser?" one of the 'lead' fangirls, Yamanaka Ino asked. "You're just a clanless orphan, you can't even touch my dear Sasuke-kun with a finger!"

"Oi, Ino-pig! Sasuke-kun is MINE!" the other lead fangirl, Haruno Sakura exclaimed. And with that, most girls got into a sort of cat-fight. It was just another day at the Academy.

"QUIET!" Iruka shouted, before turning to his blonde student. "Naruto, you know I can't play favourites with my students. But IF you do defeat Sasuke, I will recommend you to take the Genin exam ahead of time."

"REALLY? HAH!" Naruto said, excited. Then he looked at Sasuke. "Better look out, teme. I've been practicing!"

"Hnn" was Sasuke's only answer.

"Now, now Naruto, settle down." Iruka said to stop the blonde from responding. "Since you're so eager for class to start, why don't I ask you something?" Naruto shuddered at this. He never liked to answer questions. Not that he was dumb, he simply didn't like to read.

"Now, Naruto. I want you to name all the Hokages and something about each of them"

Naruto smiled. He may not know that much, but about Hokages he knew plenty. After all, his dream was to become one as well. "Well, we have the Shodaime Hokage, Hashirama… can't remember the clan name, but I do know he was one of the founders of the village. The Nidaime Hokage was his brother, I can't remember the name as well. But I know he founded the Police Force!" Naruto crossed his hands trying to think. "The Yondaime Hokage is Namikaze Minato, he was a war hero, but I can't remember why. Oh he also gave his life to kill the Kyuubi almost 13 years ago." Naruto didn't notice the small frown on Iruka's face, but Hinata did. ' _Is the reason everyone hates Naruto-kun related to this? I need to keep researching. I feel like I'm almost with my Byakugan but I'd like to figure this out first'_.

Iruka smiled at Naruto. "Not bad Naruto, maybe the lack of reading is what's keeping you from having more knowledge. But how about the Sandaime? You didn't tell me anything about him."

"Oh, that's easy! Jiji is super strong but he's also a perv! I saw him reading one of those stupid… What was the name? Icho-Icho? Ucha-Ucha? Whatever! I saw him reading that with a nosebleed last time he came to see me."

Again, everyone laughed. "Why would someone like Hokage-sama visit someone like you, Naruto-baka?" Sakura asked with disgust in her voice.

Naruto felt sad. Before he kinda liked the pink-haired girl. But after meeting Hinata and learning what a true friend is, he stopped talking to Sakura. This time, he indulged her. "Boy, I thought you were supposed to be the smartest in class, Sakura. Don't you know that all orphans have Jiji as their legal guardian? Why do you think I call him that?"

Sakura stood speechless. The idiot knew something she did not? Impossible! "You're just making that up! If that was the case, Sasuke-kun would also have visits from Hokage-sama! Right, Sasuke-kun?" She turned to the raiven-haired boy, who didn't respond.

"Sakura, he has a point. All Konoha orphans are under legal tutelage by the reigning Hokage." Iruka spoke and then turned to Naruto. "Still, Naruto, you should try to be more respectful about Hokage-sama."

Naruto just nodded. He also noticed something. While Sasuke didn't answer Sakura, Naruto saw him trembling a little. Like the questioned had triggered something in Sasuke. ' _What is his problem? I'd really like him to be my friend like Hinata-chan, but not only I can't get through to him, I can't even find him alone! ARGH, this is frustrating!'_

* * *

After lunch Naruto and the rest of his class went to the Academy training grounds. He was eager to fight Sasuke.

Iruka was already waiting for them.

"Now, when I call your names, you will both come to the circle and spar for a while. The winner is decided by knockout or if someone goes outside the circle. So let's start with… Uzumaki Naruto and Akimichi Choji."

"EH? But Iruka-sensei! I wanted to fight Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I know Naruto, but if I want to see what you are capable of, I can't pair you up with Sasuke. According to the past reports, he is way stronger than you. I need you to fight someone similar to your level." He turned to Choji. "Choji, I want you to go all-out okay?"

"Hai, Iruka-sensei." The fa… big boned child answered.

"Ready… start!"

Naruto rushed at Choji who got into a fighting pose. He parried most of Naruto's moves, except the ones that were aimed at his belly. Those he didn't need to defend or dodge. "I hope you're ready Naruto, now I'm going to attack!" he shouted as he delivered a palm strike to Naruto's gut.

The move was so sudden, Naruto was barely able to jump to dodge. He noticed a small air current was formed after Choji moved his hand. " _He may be a little slow but he has power. I can't let myself get hit by those. Think Naruto, think. He can easily defend my strikes and I just can't dodge… AH! I know, I'll use that trick Hinata-chan taught me!'_ he turned to Choji. "Ok Choji, this was fun and you are strong, but if I'm going to become Hokage I need to win this!" Naruto shouted as he rushed the young Achimichi again

' _Again a frontal attack? Then I'll try to hit him before he can hit me!'_ Choji thought as he pulled his fist back. As he tried to strike the blonde in his head, Naruto seemed to vanish. ' _Wha…? WHOAAAAH!'_ Choji arm was caught and with a quick movement Naruto threw him to the floor and out of the circle.

"Enough!" Iruka called. "Winner is Uzumaki Naruto!"

"YES! I WON! I WON!" the blonde jumped up in down in the air. Everyone was speechless. Sure, they knew Choji wasn't any Sasuke, but Naruto was supposedly the weakest kid in school! How did he win?

"Now before we continue, can anyone tell me how Naruto was able to defeat Choji?" Iruka asked as Naruto helped his opponent up and do the Seal of Reconciliation.

"He must have cheated!" Sakura shouted. "How can he lift someone like Choji?"

Some of the girls agreed, however it was Sasuke who answered. "He used something I've read. It's from something called judo. He used his opponent's momentum against him and with the additional force he was able to throw Choji to the ground."

"Correct Sasuke." Iruka nodded. "I wasn't expecting you to use something like that Naruto, so congratulations!"

"YATTA!"

* * *

At the end of the day, Naruto headed to the Hokage Tower, where Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage was working. He disregarded the looks people gave him, since he was already used to it.

"Yo, Jiji! You never guessed what happened today!" Naruto said as he entered the Hokage's room.

"Oh, Naruto-kun. I wasn't expecting you here today!" the old Hokage said with a smile. "So I assume that the day went well at the Academy?"

"Oh yeah, Jiji. I was finally able to beat someone in the _taijutsu_ spar! It was only Choji tough, but hey! Everyone needs their win!"

The Hokage's smile grew. "Why congratulations, Naruto-kun! To celebrate, we can go to Ichiraku! Since next week it's the Kyuubi memorial, I won't have much time to be wth you, so consider it as a birthday present."

Naruto's smile disappeared in an instant. "Oh right… The Kyuubi memorial…"

"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?"

"Well… two things. First, it's also my birthday, so I can't spend it with you." Hiruzen frowned a little. He would love to be with Naruto, but since it was the 13th anniversary of the Kyuubi's defeat, the demand for a speech from the Hokage was almost mandatory.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun. I can buy you a present if you like. What was the other issue. You mentioned there were two."

"Well…" Naruto's frowned deepened. "I never wanted to tell you this because ninjas are supposed to 'endure', but every year since 5 years ago, I have to spend my birthday alone at home and with everything completely closed. The last time I tried to go out during the celebrations, I got yelled at by almost everyone! I don't even know why everyone hates me so much!" Naruto said with tears forming in his eyes.

Hiruzen approached Naruto and hugged him. "Naruto, the villagers are not wise. You know how I told you that you were a miracle baby? Found near the place the Kyuubi died?" Naruto nodded, still crying. "The villagers think that because of that, you have something to to with the attack from the Fox."

"T-that can't be just it, Jiji. If it was only that, why w-would they call me a d-demon? Even some of the ninja call me that!" Naruto continued to sob in the Hokage's chest.

This made Hiruzen angry. While he understood that the villagers were ignorant, he wouldn't forgive any shinobi under his watch to mistreat Naruto. He would have a talk with his force…

"Naruto… how about we make a promise? You will graduate in a few months, correct? How about this? I'm not saying you have to be Rookie of the Year, but if you continue to show improvement, I'll teach you the real reason the villagers look at you like that."

"Eh? That's so long Jiji! Why can't you just tell me now!?"

"Simple Naruto. The real reason is a A-class secret of the village. And I can't give it to anyone I feel like it. That's why you need to prove yourself. Prove to me that you can be a great shinobi!" Hiruzen said, smiling again.

Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes and smiled back. "Okay Jiji! I have a goal now. I understand it's a secret so I won't boast anything about this. But I expect you to keep your promise okay? Otherwise you may find out the Hokage monument pained… again." Naruto said with a mischievous smirk.

' _Please no…'_ that was the last thought Hiruzen Sarutobi had before leaving the room for Ichiraku's.

* * *

 **And that's that! I kinda got inspired to write this all of a sudden so who am I to stop inspiration?**

 **Like I said, Naruto will be stronger and smarter than in canon. He won't be god-like but he will be at least more versatile in fighting.**

 **Will Naruto be able to graduate and fulfill his promise? What is the S-class secret the Hokage was talking about? Next chapter: _Naruto improves? Hiruzen's choice_**


	3. Naruto improves? Hiruzen's choice!

**It's been a while, hasn't it? Life and lack of inspiration always seems to get the better of us. Oh well...**

* * *

6 days passed. It was almost October 10th. To all of Konoha, it was a time to celebrate the Kyuubi's defeat and to honor the fallen in the great battle 13 years ago. It was also the birthday of one Uzumaki Naruto. On that day, Naruto never leaved his house. Last time he did, when he was 5, some drunk villagers were so angry at him they almost killed him! It took the precise actions of some ninja patrolling to quarrel the mob. They were executed the very next day for 'defiling the Yondaime's last wish', or so Jiji said.

When Naruto returned home from his talk with the Hokage, he was very confused. On one hand, Hiruzen seemed very angry at something. Naruto couldn't exactly put his finger where, but it seemed to have something to do with 'disrespectful population'. On the other hand, Naruto was a little happier now. His adoptive grandfather gave him a book called ' _Konoha's most famous jutsus and it's users - a quick guide_ '. The book contained some information on various jutsus. It wasn't explaining how to do them, since Naruto was still just an Academy student, but it had some information on some of Konoha's most famous techniques and the most famous ninjas on the village. And Hiruzen knew that although Naruto wasn't sharp, he wasn't stupid.

Sitting on his bed for a while, Naruto started to read his book. It had a little bit of everything. From the _Katon_ jutsus of the famous Uchiha clan (he wouldn't admit that Sasuke could be that awesome, mind you!), to the famous _Hiraishin_ ( _ **Hikō + raijin =**_ **Flying Thunder God** ) of the Fourth Hokage. Upon closer inspection, Naruto realized that the _Hiraishin_ was originally developed by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, but the Fourth perfected it to a point he was able to defeat most of Iwa's squadrons on the Third Ninja World War. He also took interest on the _Byakugan_ , since his best friend Hinata was from the Hyuga clan. The ability to see in practically 360ª angle and to see farther from the naked eye was something Naruto would like to be able to do.

The blonde troublemaker then realized something. He was basically studying History! He never liked to read that much, due to it being 'boring', but with the pictures and general explanations of the jutsus and a contextualization, he was able to learn in an easier way! He then flipped a few more pages until he stopped at one that said _Fuinjutsu_. The art of sealing. According to the book, there were only a couple of real seal masters over the world, and Konoha had some of them. There was the Fourth Hokage himself and the Sannin Jiraya (looking at the photo, Naruto was pretty sure he had seen someone like him near his house, but disregarded it). It also explained that once there was a whole clan of seal experts... the Uzumaki clan.

When he read the name of the clan, he dropped the book. _'Uzumaki? But... That's my last name as well? Jiji never mentioned that, and he always said that my name was given to me by my parents before they died in the_ _Kyubi attack. Come to think of it, it seems odd the Fox attacked on my birth day. Jiji called me a 'miracle baby' because I survived... There seems to be more to it._ ' Naruto tought for a while. It really was odd. Furthermore, Naruto also took out his own Academy History book and started to cross references. Apparently, the Kyuubi is something a called a Biju. 9 of them exist all over the world and they are huge in size and power. Nothing more was said about it, but that really made Naruto think. ' _If it's something that big, how come it appeared out of nowhere? Wait... I thing there was a jutsu for something like that!_ '. Naruto flipped to the chapter on Jiraya and took note of something. "The Toad Summoning Contract. Jiraya of the Sannin was able to summon the powerful toads of Mount Myobõku using the _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_ ( **Summoning Jutsu** ). That way the toads are teleported automatically to his summoner and helped Jiraya win various battles." Naruto read.

He glanced his alarm clock. 3am. Wait 3am? He was up for almost 5 hours just reading? Ok, that sounded weird even for someone who actually liked reading. Naruto shrugged the thought. He wa really enjoying his book but he needed to sleep. He had class in the morning. Iruka mentioned he was going to do a small quiz test. Naruto frowned a little but since there was nothing to do about it, he just laid into his bed and fell asleep.

* * *

Next morning, Naruto rushed to the Academy. He had to talk with Iruka-sensei about what he read. He noticed the glares of most villagers, but being used to it, the blonde decided to ignore them.

He met Hinata at the school gate. She was accompanied by her personal bodyguard, Hyuga Kõ. At first, Naruto asked why she needed a bodyguard. Despite being the heiress of the clan, they had other clan heirs in their class like Kiba or Choji. Kõ explained that due to an attempted kidnapping on Hinata when she was 3, Hiashi declared that she would have a bodyguard at all times.

"Good morning, Hinata-chan, Kõ-san! How are you doing today?"

"G-Good morning, N-Naruto-kun. I'mdoing good. I-in fact, I'm happy, b-because yesterday, I-I m-managed to get a hit on Father on our r-regular training."

"That's great! And have you unlocked the Byakugan?" the blonde asked.

"Y-yes. I-if you want, I-I can s-show it to you."

"Hinata-sama, don't forget we have the meeting with the Hokage. I'm not sure if you'll have the time to be with Uzumaki-san" Kõ said.

Naruto looked at the Hyuga adult. Sure, at the beggining, he was like everybody else, looking at him with contempt, disgust or even anger. But soon the white-eyed man began to realize that Naruto was not what most villagers (and some ninjas) painted him for. It was true that the blonde boy was a loudmouth prankster, but he was polite and trustwhorty. Furthermore, he seemed to be a good influence on Hinata's confidence issues.

"Oh you're going to see Jiji? Well, don't mind me. I'll just go train a little more. I just need to ask Iruka-sensei for some more chakra control exercises." Naruto smiled.

"N-Naruto-kun, i-if y-you want, I-I can g-give you s-some tips..."Hinata suggested, trying to hide the blush on her face.

"Really?"

"Y-yes. I m-mean, if you want t-to. Y-you can already have the leaf s-spinning exercise mastered, r-right?" the Hyuga princess asked.

The blonde nodded. "Yup! All thanks to you! I can even have the leaf spinning from any part of my body!"

Kõ looked a little surprised. "Really? Then may I suggest you try the tree climing exercise? You need to have a good control of chakra on your legs. But beware, Uzumaki-san. Either do it with supervision or use a cushion on the ground. You can fall at anytime, and if you fall on your head, it can get ugly."

Naruto thought for a while. "No worries, Kõ-san! I'll ask Iruka-sensei after class. Hinata-chan, we need to hurry. C'mon!" He grabbed the Hyuga by the hand and the both rushed to the classroom. Obviously, Naruto did not realize the intense shade of red on the poor girl's face.

* * *

"Class, the Sandaime Hokake will come to our class later today. He wants to give all of you some personal tutouring." Iruka said while he passed some papers to the class.

Mizuki continued. "What we want is for all of you to be honest. On those papers, we want you to write down what you think are your major strenghts and as well your biggest flaws. The Hokage will then cross reference with our own records and act accordingly."

Sakura raised her hand. "Mizuki-sensei, why do we need to write it down if you already have your recorts?"

"Simple. Our recorts are two months old. Some of you may be better now, and some of you may be worse." No one noticed the slight glare he gave Naruto.

When all papers were distributed, the class started to write down. Naruto stood still for a while looking at his paper. " _Jiji knows me better than anyone, so I don't need to tell him this... But I feel bad lying to him... What should I do?_ " he raised his hand. Mos of the class thought he was going to do his normal antics but they got a surprise.

"Iruka-sensei, these reports we will give the Jiji will be confidential between us?

Iruka looked confused at this. "Well, we teachers won't read them, if that's what you're asking. Why?"

"Well, I don't want to reveal my progress to anyone until the graduation exam." the blonde respondd with a confident smile.

However most of the class just laughed.

"You? Graduate? Don't make me laugh! You're a clanless orphan with no skill whatsoever!" Ino mocked.

Naruto stopped smiling. With the info he had from the book Hiruzen gave him, he knew that there was a chance he was part of a very famous clan. However he still didn't have any proff so he couldn't just call Ino out. All he could do was respond in kind, with some regular knowledge.

"Oh wow Ino, you really have faith in me. Tell you what, if I'm able to name 5 powerful shinobi who were clanless orphans, you all have to stop making fun of me until graduation. AND if by any chance I fail, then I'll just quit!"

The laughter stopped. Naruto, quit? He never quitted on something. He said it was his _nindo_ , his ninja way. Even if he was the class clown and the Dead Last, most students did in fact admire Naruto's preserverance and 'never say surrender' attitude.

"Alright." said Ino with a smirk. She knew Naruto wouldn't be able to do it. "You have a bet. Name them."

Naruto's smirk grew even more. "Okay so first you have Morino Ibiki, he's the head of the T&I department of Konoha. You should know him, he's your father's boss" he pointed to the blonde girl, who just huffed in response.

"Next" Naruto raised a second finger "We have the Sannin Jiraya! He's the owner of the Toad Summoning Contract and the master of my third awesome ninja with no clan," he rainsed a third finger "Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage. I don't think I need to say how awesome he is right?" Naruto asked sarcastically.

"Fourth, we have Konoha's best taijutsu master, Maito Guy. Although he wasn't an orphan until he was already a genin, he was still clanless. Rumour has it, that he's even stronger than Hokage-jiji." Naruto opened his palm to unveil the fifth member "And last... I was going to say me, since I'm a future Hokage and all, but I think I'm just going to say the best ninja there is in the whole world... Iruka-sensei!" he pointed at the scarred teacher. "He has to be the best to put up with all of us." He said laughing a little.

Everybody just stood there silently. The class clown, the Dead Last, was able to receite 4 amazing ninjas just out of the blue. Even Ino was speechless.

"... HAH! Iruka-sensei doesn't count! You only gave 4 people! You lose, Idiot. SO..."

"INO!" Iruka shouted using his infamous Big-Head Jutsu "Just give it a rest will you? You're disturbing the class! Now, please, finish your assignment."

Everybody continued the task at hand.

* * *

After lunch, Hiruzen visited Naruto's class.

"Hello, my young shinobi in-training. I hope you are all doing great. Now, Iruka has already given me all your reports and I can honestly say I'm very surprised at this class. You all seem to be one of the most successful classes in the history of Konoha." the Hokage commented as he walked around the classroom.

"Oi, Jiji!" shouted Naruto. "I know you're supposed to help us, but we're so many, how will you be able to do it?"

The Hokage just smiled. "I'll use a jutsu created by my predecessor, don't worry Naruto-kun." He then made a cross shaped hand signal " _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_ " ( **Shadow Clone Jutsu** ) and a dozen copies of Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared.

"Class, what you're seeing here is a A-rank kinjutsu from our village. It creates real solid clones of the caster, it's not just illusions like normal _bunshins_. Does anyone have an idea of why this is a Forbidden Technique?" Iruka asked.

Surprisingly, Naruto was the one who raised his hand.

"I'm assuming it has to be the chakra reserves right? If you create solid clones who are able to do anything you do, then you have to divide the chakra trough them all. You need a large reserve to create even one, and Jiji managed to create a dozen." he then turned to the Hokage. "Hey Jiji, do you know what's the maximum number of clones possible to create?"

One of the Hiruzens took a pensative look. "Hmmm... for an average jonin of the village, maybe 5 or 10. But it's very risky. Now let's move on. There are 36 of you, so there will be 3 of you for each clone. Just don't hit any of them, or they will dispell and I don't want to waste more chakra.

 _With Naruto..._

Naruto was with Hinata, Sasuke (much to Naruto's charging) and the real Hiruzen.

"Well, Hinata-chan, I'll start with you. In your report you said that you are slowly but surely gaining more confidence in yourself. Did anything happen?"

Hinata blushed a little while looking at Naruto, who (of course) didn't realize. "W-well, I'm a l-little better at it. B-but there are some parts of my J-Jyuken training that are not g-going so well... I don't know what do do..." she said in a sad tone.

"Don't worry Hinata-chan!" Naruto encouraged. "I'm sure you'll be able to. I mean, you're the strongest kunoichi I know! Mastering the taijutsu style of your family should be a piece of cake!"

"I agree with Naruto-kun." Hiruzen added. "You just need to realize what you're doing wrong, and work to correct it. After each training session, I suggest you take notes on everything you've done and try to find what's lacking."

"H-hai, Hokage-sama" the young Hyuga responded.

Hiruzen then turned to Sasuke.

"So, Sasuke-kun, I see that the Academy reports you can do no wrong. (Naruto 'tched' at that). But tell me, do you think there's anything you'd like to improve?"

Sasuke begrundgingly answered. "At the moment, I feel there's nothing I can learn from the Academy. I would like to unlock my Sharingan, but I don't know how."

"Hmmm... I may have some ways. Why don't you come to my office later today? I have a meeting with the Hyuga clan head at around 5pm, so I should be free at 6."

Sasuke just nodded. Hiruzen then turned to Naruto.

"Now Naruto-kun, about you. I see that you've been improving these last weeks. From the basic jutsus, you only fail to do the _Bunshin no Jutsu_ and your phisical resistance and stealth skills are some of the best records of the Academy History. Tell me, is there anything you'd like to know?"

Naruto was a bit embarrased. He didn't know he had the highest scores in physical resistance or stealth. "Well... I really want to know why I can't seem to do the _Bunshin no Jutsu_ correctly... I mean, I'm improving in everything but that!" he said in a depressed tone. "What if I learned the _Kage Bunshin_ _no Jutsu_ you used?"

Sasuke scoffed. "Do you think a Dead Last would be able to learn an A-rank kinjutsu? Get real"

"Wanna settle this outside, Teme?" Naruto challenged, but before they could do anything else, Hiruzen put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "It's not a bad idea Naruto-kun. I think I know why you can't do the normal _Bunshin_ and that would lead to you doing the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_. I'll run a few tests with you before I leave and if I think you're able, I'll teach you the jutsu tomorrow. Think of it as a birthday present." the old Hokage said with a smile.

"You really mean it Jiji?" Naruto asked with stars in his eyes.

"Yes Naruto-kun. And don't worry, Sasuke-kun" he said turning to the Uchiha "I'll have time to you as well. But I would like if you could bond with some more of your classmates. Is there any reason why you don't?" Hiruzen asked worried.

"Most girls are just useless and don't have any talent as shinobi, I think they're only here to look at me, which makes me unconfortable. Also, I'm just plain better than anyone else here. Sure, Dobe here can have more physical resistance, but I have more power and speed."

Naruto was about to retort, when (surprisingly!) Hinata spoke with a confidence she never had before. "That's not entirely true, Sasuke-san. As you know, the Jyuken strikes are something very precise and powerful. I just need to hit you once and you can be knocked out."

Sasuke stopped himself for a while. " _The Hyuga was defending Naruto? Why... Oh she likes him. That makes sense I guess_." and then spoke "While it may be true, you still need to hit me, and that's the hard part."

"Don't be so sure about it, Teme. We all know that most ninjas work in teams. Let's imagine I would be able to do the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_. Sure I would still be weaker than you, but 5 or 10 of me would be enough to distract you while Hinata-chan finds an opening!"

"He's right, Sasuke-kun." The Hokage intervened. "Power alone can not defeat your enemies. I know that because of what happened to you, you may think otherwise, but you need to understand it was a exception. Now I'll give the 3 of you an assignment" he handed a piece of paper to the 3 of them. "I want you to develop, as a team, a possible stratergy that could defeat an opponent stronger than you."

Sasuke, again begrundgingly, started to open up a little to his two classmates...

"S-so, what do you think we sho-should do?" Hinata asked.

"Sasuke, besides the shuriken and kunai, do you know any other long ranged attacks?" Naruto questioned.

"Hnn. I already know how to do my clan's signature jutsu, the _Goukakyuu no Jutsu_ ( **Great Fireball Jutsu** ). What about you? I saw that you were practicing the target practice yesterday."

"Well, I read that some ninjas are able to channel chakra through their weapons. I'm trying to do that so they will have more power to compensate for lack of accuracy"

"Were you able to do it?" Sasuke asked, honstly curious. He knew that was a high level skil.

"I think I almost got it. The issue is that it seems I pour too much chakra on the weapon, sometimes they break. Not sure why..."

"M-maybe you just h-have large c-chakra re-reserves, N-naruto-kun" Hinata suggested.

"Hnnn it's possible. If you are the one who has more stamina, it could be the reason for it." Sasuke added.

Naruto had an idea. "Then how about we do like this..."

A few minutes later they went to Hiruzen again.

"So, were you able to figure out how?"

"We had some ideas, Jiji. But I think we understood what the main reason of this was." Naruto answered

"Oh? And what was that?"

"Hnn. It was basically to show that whatever the case, the most important aspect is teamwork, right? Sasuke suggested.

Hiruzen nodded. "Very good. And did you manage to find a way to defeat the opponent?"

"H-hai, Hokage-sama. A-at first, we w-would try to gather information on the e-enemy. Then, N-Naruto-kun and Sasuke-san would try to hit with l-long range attacks to find an opening I could e-explore with my Jyuken." Hinata answered.

"And if the enemy was a man, it would be even easier to distract him, if we figure out he's a pervert!" Naruto exclaimed.

Hiruzen just sweatdropped. "Naruto-kun, I already told you, you shouldn't use _that_ jutsu. Imagine that the information you gathered was wrong and the enemy wasn't fazed. He sould assault you and you couldn't defend yourself."

"But" Sasuke interjected. "We could just be leading him into a trap. You never mentioned how much time we had to prepare." he finished with a smal smirk. He had to admit, Naruto did had a wide imagination.

"Hmmmm... Very well. I accept your answer. And it seems the rest of the class is almost finished." Hiruzen dispelled the clones. "Oh... what interesting strategies." He then took the attention from the class. "Everyone, I'm proud of you. I'm sure you'll be able to make the village proud in the near future. I'll be going now." He then left the room.

"Alright class. While you were busy with your assignments, Hokage-sama asked us to reward you with something" Iruka then took out small pieces of paper, some brown, and the others blank. "These brown papers are chakra-conducting. They are able to read a person's chakra affinity. As you know there are 5 basic elements of jutsus. Therefore there are also 5 different basic elements of chakra."

Mizuki continued. "The blank ones are to determine the level of the chakra reserves. Hokage-sama wants to make sure if you are all on the expected level of chakra for Academy graduates. All you need to do is to focus chakra on each piece of paper."

"If it burns, your affinity is Fire, If it soaks, Water. If it crumbles to dust, Earth. If it wrinkles, Lightning. And if it cuts in half, Wind." Iruka finished. "The more normal chakra affinities in Konoha are Fire and Earth, which of course, doesn't mean you can't have any of the others."

Naruto took his paper and started to focus his chakra on it. When he opened his hands, he saw a clean cut in the middle of the paper. "Iruka-sensei, I think my affinity is Wind!"

Iruka looked surprised. "Realy? That's really rare Naruto. In all of Konoha, only the Hokage's youngest son has the same affinity as you. What about the rest of you, class?"

Naruto also looked around to see some of the results. Hinata got Water, and Sakura got Earth, as did Chouji and Kiba. Shikamaru, Shino and Ino got Fire. Sasuke was surprised at his paper. "Hey, Teme, your affinity is Lightning. But I thought you said you could do _Katon_ jutsus."

Sasuke couldn't find an answer for this.

"It's simple Naruto." Iruka answered. "That just means that Sasuke will find easier to do _Raiton_ jutsus. But he can also use any other kind. For example, Hokage-sama's main affinity is Fire, but he did master all of the 5 elements."

"Maybe Sasuke's second affinity is Fire. All of us have a sort of order which determines the difficulty to master an element. Supposing Sasuke has Lightning and Fire, it will be very difficult for him to learn, for example, _Suiton_ jutsus." Mizuki added.

Sasuke just nodded. Maybe that's why he had such a hard time doing the _Goukakyuu_...

* * *

After class, Naruto stayed behind to talk with Iruka while Hinata made her way to the Hokage tower, where Kõ and her father Hiashi were waiting.

"Good evening, Hinata-sama. Did your day go well?" Kõ asked.

"H-hai. O-otou-sama, I think I found the reason of why my Jyuken is so behind your expectations." Hinata said to her father.

Hiashi was surprised. He wasn't expecting Hinata to admit it. Sure, he thought his dauhter was lacking on her taijutsu, but he also knew that theoretically, she was doing everything well. "Then what is it, Hinata."

"I think it has to do with my affinity. Jyuken is mostly a Earth based technique, but I have a Water affinity."

That surprised Hiashi even more. That would explain a lot. "Very well, Hinata. Tomorrow class is dismissed since it's the day of the Kyuubi Memorial. I expect you at the training dojo at 9am. We will discuss this better there and we'll try to find a solution."

"H-hai."

They then entered the Hokage's office.

"Ah, Hiashi-san. A pleasure seeing you again. So tell me, what should I do for you?"

"Hokage-sama" Hiashi bowed. "As you know, my eldest daughter just developed her Byakugan. And, as you must know, she recently developed a friendship with Uzumaki Naruto. According to her and some of my reports, they are actually helping each other improve."

Hiruzen smiled at this. It was rare for Naruto to make a friend.

"However, due to Uzumaki's... 'condition' (Hiruzen frowned a little) we wanted to ask for your permission for Hinata to learn the secret." Hiashi continued. "It's not an attempt to drive them away, Hokage-sama. It's more to explain to Hinata why he has the type of chakra he has. A true friend will look pass whatever secret he has."

Hiruzen was not happy. He pondered Hiashi's words. "I agree on one condition. I will tell her AND Naruto at the same time. And I'll do it tomorrow. It's time Naruto learned why the villagers are idiots." He then summoned an ANBU. "Tenzo, I want you to summon all of our Shinobi forces from Chunnin up to a meeting tomorrow at 7am. Go." The ANBU vanished in a poof of smoke.

"I'm assuming you'll punish the ninjas who are also mistreating him?" Hiashi asked.

"Indeed." Hiruzen nodded and then turned to Hinata. "Hinata-chan what I'll tell you tomorrow is a S-class secret regarding Naruto. However, it shouldn't change the image you have of him. What I'll ask of you is to keep helping Naruto reaching his goals. Understood?"

Hinata nodded "Hai, H-Hokage-sama."

"Then you are dismissed. I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

 _With Naruto..._

"So Iruka-sensei, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Simple Naruto. I wanted to tell you the results of the chakra level test." He pulled out a paper and handed it to Naruto. Naruto just read: " _Uzumaki Naruto: Jonin level reserves._ Wait, are you sure about this, Iruka-sensei?"

"I am." Iruka answered. "And you'll learn about the why tomorrow. Hokage-sama wants you in his office tomorrow at around 19:00. He will be giving his annual speech and at about 20:00 he will come to you and explain everything. I know you don't like to leave home at night during your birthday so I'll escort you there personally, okay?" Iruka noticed the small frown on the blonde's face. "And after that I'll treat you to all-you-can-eat ramen at Ichiraku's!"

That changed the mood. "Really? YATTA!"

While Naruto was jumping of happiness, someone was lurking in the background. " _I'll take this chance. If no one will be there, I can steal the Forbidden Scroll! And while I'm at it, I can finish the Demon Brat at the same time! Heheheh..._ "

* * *

 **And there we go. I wanted to start with Naruto's birthday, but I also wanted to develop a little more. As you can see, Naruto and Hinata helping each other is already making some changes. Hiruzen will keep a closer eye on the Academy standarts, and we saw Sasuke opening up a little earlier than expected.**

 **Why is Naruto's 'condition' a S-class secret? And what is it? Who was that plotting in the shadows? All of this and some more revealed next chapter: _October 10th! You are the...!_**


	4. October 10th! You are the!

**Here's the newest chapter. Enjoy.**

* * *

Hinata left the Hokage's office even more confused than when she entered. Naruto had an S-class secret? And apparently, he didn't even know it! Was that related to how the villagers looked at him? Now that she had the _Byakugan_ , she felt the need to use it to see Naruto's chakra system. But she couldn't do it today. Now she had to return home and prepare for her training tomorrow.

"Hinata." Her father spoke.

"Hai, Otou-sama?"

"You mentioned to have a Water affinity. How did you figure it out? Normally our shinobi only figure out their affinities when they reach Chunnin level."

"Well, O-otou-sama, Hokaga-sama visited the classroom today and it s-seemed to be some kind of r-reward." she answered.

" _Hmmm... I don't know what he's thinking but maybe this was a blessing in disguise._ " Hiashi thought. " _I always had the feeling Hinata wasn't fit to be the heiress as she couldn't even use the_ _Jyuken_ _in a good way. But if this is the reason then all is explained. Come to think of it, her mother was also a Water affinity... I have to figure out more tomorrow_ "

They passed Sasuke who was on his way to his own meeting with the Hokage. The Last Uchiha recognized Hinata and nodded in her direction. The Hyuga heiress nodded back.

"I had no idea you were friends with the Uchiha, Hinata." Hiashi commented, already out of the Hokage tower.

"N-not exactly friends, O-otou-sama. But today, I was in a group with Sasuke-san and N-Naruto-kun. Maybe that's why he acknowledged me" his daughter responded.

"Oh? And what was the task?"

Hinata spent the rest of the way home explaining the group assignment and how they 'beat' the Hokage by finding a loophole in his rules.

* * *

 _Next day..._

Naruto woke up with a knock on his door. He was surprised. The only people who knew where he lived were Iruka-sensei and Hiruzen-jiji (Hinata of course knew, but Naruto didn't know it). He got up and went to see who it was. When he opened his door he found Sasuke.

"What are you doing here, Teme? And how did you found out where I live?"

"Hnn. Hokage-sama told me yesterday. I just wanted to talk for a little. Do you mind if I come in?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto was expecting anything but this. He got his guard up just a little. "Who are you and what have you done with my classmate?"

"I am Sasuke, Dobe. I just want to talk. Yesterday, I found out that we have more in common than what I initially imagined."

Hearing 'Dobe' changed Naruto's opinion. The very few times Sasuke addressed him (not counting yesterday's exercise), it was always that way. "Very well, Teme. You can come in." He let Sasuke in. "Sorry for the state of my apartment. I just woke up and was going to clean it today."

"It's okay."

They both sat on the table while Naruto was cooking his breakfast. Despite being a ramen addictied, Naruto had some idea of balanced meals. The Hokage said that to be a great ninja, one has to eat a little of everything, and breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Naruto at the time said that the only reason he only ate ramen was because thet people from the Ichiraku's ramen stand treated him in a kind way and didn't overcharge him. An hour after Hiruzen left Naruto's apartment, he had some of the villagers who ran grocery stores of the village at his door, apologizing to him and giving him free cupons for certain items. He never did understood why, but he wasn't going to say no to free food.

After that, Hiruzen instructed Iruka to teach Naruto the basics of cooking. At the moment, Naruto was preparing some mixed eggs and bacon.

"Do you want some Teme? Or have you eaten already?"

"I already ate. Thanks anyway."

Naruto sat down and started to eat. "So... What do you want with me anyways?"

"Well, as I've told you, last night I went to Hokage-sama's office to talk..." Sasuke started

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

"So, Sasuke-kun, tell me. How did you come up with that stategy earlier today?"

"Hnn. It was all Naruto's idea. He was the one who found the loophole in your rules. Then we just formed the plan around that."

"I see..." Hiruzen mused. "And how did it feel to you opening up a little to those two?"

"I... don't know, Hokage-sama." Sasuke answered. "It's not that I don't want to make friends... It's just... I can't waste my time with that, you know? I mean... I HAVE to avenge my clan!"

Hiruzen looked sad. " _Sasuke-kun... No matter how much I repeat myself, it won't get into that head of yours..._ " he thought. "While your desire is admirable, you do realize that in Konoha we work as teams right? You will have to start opening up to some people. Might as well be those two."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"As you know, Naruto-kun is an orphan, so he knows how it is to be alone. And despite never having any family to begin with he has a bond with some people in this village. Because he never got depressed thinking about it."

Hiruzen took a small puff of his smoking pipe before continuing. "Hinata-chan does have family but according to some reports I have, she is being shunned by most of her clan due to 'insufficient abilities'"

"So what would you want me to do? I don't want to get all friendly with that Dobe?! I need to get stronger, not having a social life!"

"Sasuke" the Hokage said with a hint of authority in his voice. "I'm not ordering you to do anything. I'm just giving you advice. Teammates ARE important not only for our main objectives but also to get stronger together. Please, try to get along with Naruto..."

* * *

"... And that's what he said. And since you defeated Choji I kinda wanted to help you train." Sasuke finished.

"But why? You're so much better than me, how could you benefit?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"Hokage-sama theorized that maybe you're not pushing yourself because since you don't have anyone to help, you don't know what your limits are." Sasuke explained.

"Hmmm..." the blonde boy thought. "Well, I never get tired after training, but now I kinda know why. According to Iruka-sensei, I have jonin level reserves."

"WHAT?!" Sasuke shouted

"It's true. And I may know why that is. I have an idea, but I need to confirm that with Jiji later today."

"Oh you're going to see him?"

"Yeah. Iruka-sensei mentioned that Jiji was going to tell me some super secret stuff related to me." Then for a while, Naruto looked at Sasuke. "Why don't you come with me as well? If we're going to be friends, then I can't hide anything from you, right? You may still be a Teme, but that doesn't mean I won't trust you."

Sasuke felt touched by Naruto's words. "... Thanks, Naruto."

"Ah don't mention it." he finished eating. "Alright! So do you know of any isolated spaces for trianing?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Why not one of the reguar training grounds?"

Naruto's smile was replaced with a frown. "Well... it's kinda complicated. But every year on this day, everyone in the village seems o mad at me. Sometimes, some of them even try to kill me. I have no idea why, so I just usually lock myself up here." he said in a sad tone.

Sasuke pondered what he heard. "Hnn. There's a training ground near my clan's compound. It's a little to the outside of the village, so I don't think anyone will be able to see us."

"Okay then. Let me just leave a note here. Iruka-sensei said he would have lunch with me, so I want him to know where to find me." after writing the note, both boys left the house. Since it was still early, no one was able to see them, so Naruto was relieved.

Unbeknownst to both boys, a figure was watching. A ninja with silver hair and with his left eye covered by the Konoha headband and a mask covering the lower end of his face showed some interest. " _Hmmmm... Hokage-sama asked me to watch Naruto. Maybe I should help him out. It's not like it would hurt anyone. Besides, after the meeting this morning, I doubt if there will be any harm to this..._ "

* * *

 **FLASHBACK TO THE MEETING**

Hiruzen Sarutobi was anything but happy. If what Naruto told him was true, some of his own shinobi were mistreating him! Do they not know the difference between a beasst and the container? Well, he would change things.

"My fellow shinobi" he started to all of his force "I come here today with bad news for some of you." Some murmurs started but the Hokage was having none of that. "Do not worry as it is nothing war-related. No... But it can be considered an act of treason." he said the last words with anger. "It has come to my attention that not only are some of you disobeying the Law I've enacted 13 years ago (some shinobi started to feel disconforted) but you are also trashing the Yondaime's legacy and will!"

He took out a kunai and a scroll. He then sealed the kunai in the scroll. "Is this a kunai just because it's sealed into something else? Or is it the scroll that's keeping the kunai from leaving?" he asked furious. "I thought all Konoha shinobi were smarter than this. Maybe we've lowered expectations on our Academy graduates."

The murmurs stopped. Some killing intent started to rise from two particular individuals. Kakashi and Iruka. They were downright furious with this revelation.

"I don't know who it was and I don't care. But beware, now that I am aware of it, those who break the Law will suffer consequences! Kakashi!" he summoned the masked ninja who stepped forward. "Until he graduates, your main mission is to look over Naruto! If anyone does anything you think it may be suspicious, you are to report to me. However, if it's something you deem urgent, you may take care of it yourself"

Kakashi nodded. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen turned to Iruka. "iruka, you are his teacher. I expect you to lean him in the right way. Pay attention, this is not favouritism. I just want him to be a good ninja, so issues like this don't happen again." Iruka bowed.

The Hokage then turned to the other shinobi. "May this serve as the first and final warning. I will have nothing like this happen again!" he said before leaving and whispering something in Kakashi's ear. "Send for your old ANBU team to fetch Jiraya. I want him back here ASAP."

* * *

Kakashi pondered the Hokage's words. If Jiraya was being sought out, then was it possible that Naruto was going to learn his secret? Highly possible. However, at the moment, he would do his job and look after Naruto. The fact that the Last Uchiha was with him could be considered a stroke of luck. He always had the feeling he would be the one to teach Sasuke, being the only one in the village with a Sharingan. Now he was training with Naruto. On the Uchiha training grounds no less.

He noticed the boys starting to talk. With his accurate hearing, he could decipher what was being told.

"So Sasuke, what will we be training in?" the blonde boy asked.

"Well, I know you need to practice on aim and chakra control right? So maybe you can start with that. There are some training dummies there. Try to hit as close to the target as possible. I'll be doing physical exercise. I want to raise my stamina."

Naruto pondered a little before agreeing.

He then proceeded with his target practice. Normally during class, Naruto would fail all of his shuriken. This time he was able to hit 3 out of 5. Sasuke looked confused. "I don't get it. If you're able to land 3 hits, why do you fail so much at the Academy?"

"Oh, that has to do with the clothes I'm wearing." Naruto answered while pointing at his clothing. It was just a simple white T-shirt with black shorts and the blue sandals.

"What do you mean?"

"I usually wear weighted clothing. That orange jumpsuit you see me wearing? 20kg of extra weight! And on the pants, I have 5kg on each foot. I want to train my speed, so for the past year or so, I've always wore it."

Sasuke was stunned. Naruto was still small (1.40m) and assumingly weighted around 40kg. If the weights are correct, Naruto has been going for a year weighing 70kg! That was a lot for a 12 year old!

"Naruto." he said.

"Yeah?"

"After this, I want to test your speed and power against mine."

"You wanna fight?" Naruto asked

"Not yet. First I want to see if those weights really are worth it."

"Sure. So you want to race?"

"Yeah. This training field is around 100 meters wide. Lets make a small race."

"You're on, Teme!"

Sasuke grabbed a nearby pebble. "I'm going to throw this to that pond over there." he pointed at the water surface. "When it hits, we start. Got it?"

"Yeah, let's start this!"

Sasuke threw the pebble. Both kids got ready, waiting for the signal. As soon as the pebble hit the water, both boys started to run. At the beggining, Sasuke had the upper hand, but around the middle of the field, Naruto surpassed him.

" _How?_ " The Uchiha asked. He tried the best he could, but the blonde boy just kept raising the distance until they reached the end.

Sasuke was panting a lot, but Naruto didn't seem fazed.

"Is this a result of your weights?" the raven-haired boy asked.

"Yeah. I mean, it's part of it."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well... it's just a theory I have. Jiji gave me a book a few days ago. It had information on many of the famous jutsus and ninjas of Konoha. In there was a mention to an Uzumaki clan." Sasuke's eye widened at this. Naruto had a clan?

"I've never heard of them."

"I know right? I don't think no one covered it at the Academy. But supposedly they are famous for their physical resistance, unusually big chakra reserves and _fuinjutsu_." Naruto explained. "They are also important in the History of the village... But if that's true, why didn't we learn anything from them?"

Sasuke pondered for a while. "I have no idea. Maybe we can ask the Hokage when we go there this afternoon?"

"Yeah. But for now let's get back to training."

* * *

 _Later in the day_

Iruka was going to fetch Naruto for his talk with the Hokage. He wasn't expecting him to be in the Uchiha training grounds, with Sasuke no less! He almost thought it was one more of Naruto's pranks. But it turns out it was true.

After his lunch with both boys (Naruto invited Sasuke, who was too tired to give an answer), Iruka went with them to give some advice. After the training session, the scarred teacher gave Naruto a box full of ninja tools. Shuriken, kunai, scrolls and, surprisingly, a kodachi. Naruto looked at Iruka with wide eyes.

"Consider this as a birthday present, Naruto! This kodachi was from my father. He always used it for battle. I want you to use it and become a great shinobi. Got it?

Naruto felt happy. "Thank you so much Iruka-sensei! I'll treasure these! And don't worry, I'll use this kodachi and become the best Hokage ever!"

"It's your birthday? You didn't mention that" Sasuke commented.

"Oh... Sorry. I forgot. It's not that I usually celebrate my birthday. I explained it to you, right?"

Naruto did in fact told Sasuke about the way some of the vilagers treated him with no apparent reason.

"You did. I still find it weird why the people do it."

"You both will learn soon enough." Iruka said. "Naruto, Hokage-sama agreed to tell Sasuke the A-rank secret as well. I'll be leaving you at the Hokage tower. Sasuke, then we will both go to the central square, where Hokage-sama will deliver his speech. After it, we return to the tower, okay?"

Sasuke nodded. The way to the Hokage tower was made in a steady pace. Some villagers looked at the trio with a mixture of surprise and horror. What was the Last Uchiha doing with the Uzumaki demon? But they couldn't get near them, as every time they tried, Iruka sent a glare that froze them in place. The kids didn't notice anything as they were chatting about the training session the just had.

Upon arriving, Hiruzen smild at the two kids.

"Oho, so you two have been training together? What a pleasant surprise! Naruto-kun, we're going to leave now, alright? You can stay here, as long as you don't trash my office, alright? And don't do anything to those scrolls over there! Especially the big one" he said pointing at a group of scrolls.

"No worries, Jiji. I brought the book you gave me so I'll just read it instead."

"Good. Now, Iruka, Sasuke-kun, let's go."

* * *

Around half an hour has passed. Naruto was in fact keeping his promise and was just reading his book. He was now at a part about the Nidaime Hokage, Tobirama Senju. Apparently, he invented a good amount of jutsus. Most of them were _kinjutsus_ but it was still an impressive amount of knowledge! And if what the Academy books said about Jiji were true, the Sandaime knew all of those jutsus as well!

"Wow, Jiji is pretty strong huh? What's this? _Kage Bunhin no Jutsu_? This is the jutsu Jiji used on class yesterday. Damn, why did the Nidaime invent a jutsu I can't even use!" he exclamated before reading a little more.

" _The Kage Bunshin no Jutsu is an A-rank_ kinjutsu _that_ _was created by the Nidaime Hokage, Senju Tobirama. It consists on creating live, physical copies of oneself. Instead of the_ Bunshin no Jutsu _which consists on just illusions. Any_ Kage Bunshin _will have all the skillset of the creator, including jutsu, physical strenght and mental knowledge. Since the copies are extensions of the original, everything they do will return to the caster when they dispell. For example, if a_ Kage Bunshin _lays a trap and then dispells, the original caster will learn where said trap is."_

' _Hmmm... maybe that means if I can use this jutsu and train, I would get better results!_ ' Naruto thought and kept reading

" _Despite being a relatively simple jutsu to use (only needs a cross hand seal, one that's besides the 12 regular seals ninja use for their jutsus), it was labled a_ kinjutsu _by Tobirama. The reason being the high chakra cost. To produce even a single_ Kage Bunshin _depletes half of the user's chakra reserves. Only ninjas with Jonin level reserves or higher can use this jutsu._ "

' _Iruka-sensei said I had Jonin level reserves... maybe I can use this jutsu... but where to find more information..._ ' he looked around the Hokage's office and his eyes stopped at the pile of scrolls. He then smiled mischievously.

* * *

While the celebrations were ocurring, almost everyone was present at the main Konoha square. The only exeptions were the gate guards, Izumo and Kotetsu; Naruto, who was at the Hokage office, and Mikuzi.

Mizuki was walking to the Hokage's office very slowly and carefully. He had always planned to steal the Forbidden Scroll from there but that damned old Hokage never left the building. He saw and opportunity on the Kyuubi Festival. Everyone would be absent, so he could just steal it. And better yet, the demon brat would be there! He could frame him, saying that he had no choice but to kill Naruto after he destroyed the Scroll! It was too perfect!

He found the blonde reading from the Scroll. Oh that was even better! But Mizuki paused. He always was the 'passive' teacher. The one who didn't say anything wrong to Naruto. It would sound suspicious if he just went in and demanded the Scroll. ' _Hmmm... I have an idea_ '

He knocked on the door and heard some noise. Probably Naruto was rushing to put the Scroll back in it's place.

"Naruto? Why are you in Hokage-sama's office?"

"Oh, Mizuki-sensei! Well, Jiji said he wanted to talk to me after his speech so I'm just waiting for him."

' _Too bad he won't find you'_ the traitor teacher thought with a smirk.

"Mizuki-sensei is something wrong?"

He was brought back to his senses by the blonde. "No, no Naruto. I just wanted to request something from Hokage-sama. But since you are here, you can just help me. I want the Forbidden Scroll to cross reference with something I'm going to use in class tomorrow."

Naruto tensed a little. Jiji told him the Scroll had dangerous jutsus. Why would Mizuki-sensei use them for class? Something seemed fishy... Now Naruto usually would help Mizuki, but that gut feeling urged him to try and stall a little.

"Well sensei, I would help, but Jiji specifically told me not to touch the scrolls, so I don't know where that Forbidden Scroll is. Also... Should you just enter the Hokage's office without permission?" he asked.

"Oh don't worry... I have permission" he said with a malicious smirk as he vanished.

"What?! Where is..." that was the last thing Naruto said before dropping to unconsciousness.

* * *

"... And after this last year, I really hope we can forget what happened. Our village always had teamwork and cooperation as it's main values. I sincerely hope we all help eachother to bring Konoha even more prosperity!" Hiruzen finished his speech to the applause of the villagers. He was about to continue when he received a mental note. ' _The seal I left in my office was triggered. No one can enter or leave whitout me knowing. And Naruto was the only person there. I have a bad feeling'_ he summoned Iruka. "Go to Naruto immediatly. I have a bad feeling" he whispered and Iruka vanished.

* * *

Naruto woke up. The first thing he noticed was that he was tied up. The second was that he was moving on Mizuki's shoulder. Thanks to his recent months of training with Hinata, he was abe to knee Mizuki in the face and jump to the ground. Used to escape the ANBU when he was captured for his pranks, Naruto untied himself and looked at the white-blue teacher.

"Mizuki-sensei! What are you doing?!"

"What does it look like? I'm stealing the Forbidden Scroll from that old coot and I'm leaving the village, while kidnapping you." Mizuki answered with an evil smile.

"I noticed that, you bastard! But why? I tought you were a loyal shinobi! I mean... you're even nice to me!"

"I'm just smarter that the idiots of the village. I mean, who would want to poke the bear wating for him to destroy everything again?"

Naruto looked confused. "Wait, what? 'Poke the bear'? What do you mean?"

"Oh, don't you know why everyone looks at you with disgust, fear and anger? You poor boy... No, 'boy' is not the correct word" Mizuki continued with his smile growing every second. "No matter, if you're awake then you are a nuisance. So..." he took one of his Fuma shuriken from his back "... DIE!"

The waepon was trown at Naruto that was only able to dodge at the last second due to instinct. He was still too shocked. Mikuzi-sensei just attacked him! And all that talk... what the hell did he mean?

"What the hell do you mean, you bastard?! Tell me!"

"Oh? You really want to know why on this day, October 10th, everyone wishes you were dead? Simple." He said. "As you know, 13 years ago today, the Kyuubi attacked the village. The Yondaime Hokage sacrificed himself to slay the Demon... Or so the books say." He started to laugh. At first it was just a small giggle, but it was evolving to a full-blown evil laughter. "It's impossible to kill a giant mass of chakra like the Kyuubi. So the Yondaime had to seal it somewhere... or someONE".

Naruto paled. He was starting to connect the dots... "You... mean...?"

"I see you're not so useless afterall. Yes, he sealed the Fox inside you! That means that you, Naruto, are the Kyuubi incarnated!"

Naruto sank to his knees. He was the Fox? So he was the one who destroyed the vilage? Hell, he was the one who killed the Yondaime, his own idol? He started to cry. "N-no... It c-can't be..."

"Oh but it can! That's why everyone looks at you with hatred! You killed many ninjas, destroyed parts of the village and killed the Yondaime! You even killed Iruka's parents! You really think he would care about the demon who left him orphan?"

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. But it made sense... He was so confused and sad, he didn't even know what to do or say. Until he heard a voice.

"That's enough, Mizuki!"

Iruka had arrived. He didn't have his usual smile. No, his face was full of hatred and disgust. Naruto couldn't even look at him. ' _S-so... I's true... Even Iruka-sensei hates me..._ ' his train of thoughts was interrupted when Iruka hugged him. "Naruto" he whispered. "I heard part of what he said. Don't believe him. You are, in no way, the Kyuubi. I promise I will explain everything, but I need you to run away now. If you can, flare your chakra as much as you can, so Hokage-sama knows where you are. Trust me Naruto."

Naruto was able to think clearly a little. He did read something about this in the book Jiji gave him. But the shock of what Mizuki told him distracted his brain. He stopped crying and wordlessly nodded to Iruka, before jumping away. He was going to run away, but something told him he should stay. So he hid behind a tree.

"Oh this is rich! You are defending the Demon Fox!" He then punched Iruka and threw some kunais at him. They hit Iruka in a way he got trapped by a tree. "What's wrong with you? Don't you hate it?"

"The Fox? Yeah, I hate it. After all, it killed my parents." Mizuki smirked at this. "But! Naruto is not the Fox! He is a proud ninja-in-training of Konoha. He is like my little brother, and I will protect him from everyone who wishes him harm. He is Uzumaki Naruto! And you, Mizuki, are a fool blinded by rage and greed!"

Mizuki had enough. He was going to attack Iruka but was stopped by a kick to the face. Naruto was back.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on Iruka-sensei, you traitor! I'll kill you!"

"Naruto! Why are you still here! Run away, you are no match for him!"

Naruto just smiled. "Iruka-sensei. You are one of my most precious people. You believed in me when no one else would. I can't just leave you here. I will protect you too!"

Mizuki got up and just started to laugh maniacally again. "The Demon is defending people! I can't contain my laughter! HAHAHAH!"

"SHUT UP!" Naruto screamed to silence Mizuki. "You are an idiot! How the hell does a Chuunin of Konoha is unable to distinguish the scroll from the kunai it's sealed in?" Naruto asked with pity. "Don't think that just because you told me this, that you will break my spirit! I am Uzumaki Naruto! Future Hokage of Konoha! And you, traitor, are going to regret what you did to Iruka-sensei! he made a cross hand sign which Iruka was able to recognize. ' _What? He was able to...?_ '

" _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" and suddenly the forest was filled with copies of Naruto. Dozens, no, _hundreds_ of copies of the blonde boy appeared out of thin air.

Mizuki just gulped. He was not going to like what came next...

* * *

 _A little later_

Naruto was back at the Hokage's office. He, Hinata, Hiashi and Sasuke were just listening as Iruka finished reporting the incident to Hiruzen. Both Hinata and Sasuke were shocked to learn Naruto's secret. Hinata felt so sad for her blonde friend, now that she knew that the people hated him for a reason he couldn't even control.

Sasuke also felt some pity. It wasn't the same as he had to go trough, but he felt that Naruto and him could relate to being alone. Maybe he should really open up to him...

After Iruka finished talking, Hiruzen sighed and rubbed his eyebrows. "I'm getting too old for this..."

"Jiji... Am I in trouble?" Naruto asked.

"Huh? Nonsense Naruto. I mean, you did use the Forbidden Scroll to learn a jutsu when I forbade you to even touch it..." Naruto winced a little. "... However, those actions prevented the theft of that same Scroll, and it help capture a traitor of the village. So with that in mind, I forgive you."

Naruto felt himself relieved, and then turned to a serious expression. "Jiji... Is what Mizuki-teme said true? Am I... the Kyuubi?"

Hiruzen took a serious expression as well. "No Naruto. You yourself said the most accurate desciption. If a kunai is sealed in a scroll, is the scroll still a scroll? I misjudged you, Naruto. You seem to have matured a lot in these past months. No doubt thanks to the help of young Hinata here." he smiled to the Hyuuga heiress, who just blushed. Hiruzen looked back at Naruto. "Technically, ths would be anough to make you a ninja, Naruto. Not only did you learned a A-rank kinjutsu, but you were also able to stop a traitor and recover an important item for the village. However, I would recomend you still finish your Academy did read about the special function of the jutsu, right?"

Naruto nodded with a smile. "Yeah, Jiji. I think I'll be the only one able to use it like this!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Naruto?"

Naruto turned to the raven-haird boy and answered. "As you saw yesterday in class, Jiji said maybe the maximum _Kage Bunshins_ a jonin of the village was able to make was around 10. And you did listen to Iruka-sensei's report that I was able to make at least 200 of them right?"

Sasuke nodded. He got a little upset when he listened that the Dead Last was able to perform a jutsu even better than the Hokage.

"It's because of the Kyuubi. It provides me with a immense chakra reserve. Even if I don't use the Fox's chakra, since our network is connected since I was born, it's kinda part of me. Though I don't think that's the only explanation." he then turned to Hiruzen. "Jiji... can I learn a little bit more about my parents?"

Hiruzen looked like he was going to have a heart attack. He never tought that Naruto was going to ask about them! He sighed again. " Sasuke, Hinata, Hiashi. I believe that your presence is no longer required." He then turned to the children, as Hiashi already knew what he was going to say." Like I mentioned, Naruto's status as a Jinchuuriki is an A-class secret punishable by death. Unless Naruto gives you explicit authorization to talk about it, you won't mention this to anyone else, alright?"

Both children nodded. Hiashi then spoke. "Come Hinata, we need to start training on what we mentioned this morning." he then turned to the young Uchiha. "Uchiha-san, would you like us to escort you to your compound?"

"I would appreciate it, if you don't mind, Hyuuga-sama" Sasuke answered, as the trio left the room.

Hiruzen smiled as he looked at Naruto again. He sighed one more time before starting to answer Naruto's question. "I'm sorry Naruto, but that information is an even higher secret than you status. Your parentage is a S-rank secret that can't be known by anyone. I fear for your safety. However, and due to the fact of the information on that book I gave you, I'm assuming you were able to come to that conclusion by yourself?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes, I had a suspicion, but since we never learned about it at the Academy, I was not sure of what to think of it."

Hiruzen looked curiously at Naruto. "What do you mean, it's not covered at the Academy? It's one of the most important parts of Konoha's history!"

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama..." Iruka started. "What exactly are you talking about? Is there something that should be on the Academy curriculum?"

Hiruzen looked from Iruka to Naruto, confusion in his eyes. But suddenly, that confusion was replaced by anger. "How dare they... Oh tomorrow I will have fun in the council meeting." he said with a menacing tone before turning back to Naruto and Iruka. "Sorry about that. Naruto, your suspicions are in fact true. You are part of a very acient clan with ties to Konoha, the Uzumaki clan."

Naruto just stood there, wide-eyed. He had a clan?!

"Yes, the Uzumaki clan. As the book I gave you will explain, the Uzumaki clan lived in the island of Uzushiogakure, the Land of Whirlpools a little to the east of Konoha. They were one of the most powerful clans in the Warrant States Era. They were very proficient in Fuinjutsu as well as Taijutsu. In fact, their physical condition, resistance, chakra levels and overal physical strenghts were among the very best in the world. However, at the end of the Second Shinobi War, an alliance made of Kumo, Iwa and Kiri shinobi were able to destroy Uzu and most of the Uzumaki clan. Konoha, altough being allies, we were unable to send reinforcements in time, as we were busy fighting Suna. Unfortunatly, when some of our ninja were able to arrive, most of the village was in ruins. There were some survivors who were taken care of in our village. Most of them left and hiid from the world. Only one of them stayed. She wanted to leave as well, but as per a request of me and Uzumaki Mito, the wife of the Shodai, she was persuaded to stay." He took a small breath of his pipe before releasing the smoke. "She was, as you may have guessed it, your mother. Unfortunatly, Naruto, I can't tell you her name or your father's name due to the reasons I said earlier."

Naruto's head was in water. All that information in his head. He had a clan! But most of them were dead due to war... And apparently his parents were some really important ninjas! But were dead as well... With a mixture of happyness and sadness Naruto tried to smile to Hiruzen. "Well Jiji... You'll have to tell me her name when I graduate! Since I already know about the Kyuubi, you still have a promise to keep!"

Hiruzen smiled. "Of course Naruto. Iruka, starting tomorrow I'll have you assume solo teacher role for the class. I feel you're ready for it. Also, I think I'll make a couple of ajustments to the Academy curriculum... Now, let's all go eat. Ichiraku's, my treat. How does that sound, Naruto?"

"Great! Let's go then!"

And with that, the three of them left. Naruto now knew a little more about himself, and it only made hs resolve stronger. ' _I will become stronger. I'll become the Hokage and protect everyone I care about! And I won't give up or go back on my word!_ '

* * *

 **... Wow, over 6000 words. I usually write around 3000 but for this chapter I wanted to include so much and the ideas just kept coming so I added them.**

 **So the 'big' reveal is done. Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke now know of Naruto's status. And Hiruzen plans on making the council suffer. Now how will this affect Naruto and his colleagues. Tune in next time for Chapter 5: _Graduation_!**


	5. Graduation!

**Newest chapter incoming! A little bashing here and there but I'll try to keep it at a minimum**

* * *

Life in Konoha didn't seem to change much in the months following the Kyuubi Memorial. The weather was still sunny, the streets were still full of merchants, and the ninja were still patrolling. Still that was from the civilian's point of view. If you asked any shinobi about any change in the past few months, they would have one key phrase in their speech: "constant vigilance". It was reported that one of the Academy teachers tried to steal the Forbidden Scroll from the Hokage on the night of the Kyuubi Festival. But through the efforts of his (now former) co-teacher, Umino Iruka, the traitor was caught and the Scroll secured.

Of course, again, that was the civilian's point of view. The shinobi knew the truth. They knew that if it wasn't for one Uzumaki Naruto, Mizuki would most likely be out of Konoha even before somebody knew what was wrong. Some shinobi questioned if this was enough for a field promotion, but apparently, Naruto's role was a minimum since he happened to be in the Hokage's office when Mizuki tried to steal the Scroll.

That was what was reported to the shinobi population. Only some people knew that Naruto was able to learn a A-rank _kinjutsu_ like the _Kage Bunshin_ and defeat Mizuki. And the day after the incident, the Hokage himself was at the Academy explaining why Iruka was going to be the teacher for the remainder of the school year.

Young Haruno Sakura was thinking about another thing the Hokage mentioned. He said that the curriculum was very easy and with lots of gaps. That meant more types of training. She grimaced at the thought. ' _If I just have physical training, I'll become a mass of muscles. Sasuke-kun would never look at me! **SHANAROO! THAT OLD HOKAGE WON'T GET IN THE WAY OF TRUE LOVE!**_ '

She arrived at the classroom and immediately her eyes went searching for Sasuke. She found him next to Naruto and Hinata. She also thought about that. ' _Ever since Mizuki was arrested, Sasuke-kun is always with baka Naruto and Hinata. I wonder why... **NO MATTER! SASUKE-KUN WILL STILL BE MINE! SHANAROO!**_ '

"Naruto! Get out of that place!" Sakura shrieked, causing most people to cover their ears.

"Jesus Sakura, can you turn it down? Why can't you just ask in a normal tone? And for that matter, why should I leave?" Naruto said, still rubbing his ears.

"Because I want to sit next to Sasuke-kun, baka! Now get out before I make you!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Make me? Who, you? Yeah sure, and I'm the Yondaime's son." Then he got up. "Listen up, Sakura, why do you think you're so better than everyone else? In fact, why do you even think Sasuke will do something for you? Don't you see he doesn't care?"

Sakura shrieked again "Shut up, Naruto! What would a clanless orphan know about this? You're just a no-name loser!" Sakura went to punch Naruto, but as soon as she raised her hand, she fell to the floor. The reason: Hyuga Hinata. The Hyuga princess grabbed Sakura's hand and threw her to the floor. Her eyes narrowed to the civilian-born kunoichi-in-training. "Sakura-san, I suggest you refrain yourself from trying to hit Naruto-kun again and speak to him in such a manner. As you'll learn eventually, everything you just said is wrong".

All of the students looked surprised to what happened. Yes, everyone (minus Naruto) knew of Hinata's crush, but they also knew Hinata was immensely shy. For her to openly protect Naruto and talk back to Sakura was almost unthinkable!

It was at that moment Iruka entered the classroom. "Sakura, why are you still not seated. You have plenty of seats left. Try not to disturb the rest of class."

Sakura just went to seat near Ino and kept her head down.

"Now class, due to the changes Hokage-sama made to the curriculum, I have good news, bad news, and worse news... depending on your individual point of view." Iruka started his lecture while distributing some papers with the class "The good news is that with the new schedule I'm now giving you you'll be much more prepared to the world outside once you graduate. The bad news, is that it will include more school time for everyone." To this everyone face faulted. More school time? If this was the bad, then...

"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked. "What are the 'worse' news then?"

Iruka smirked. "The worse news is that most of you won't even make it to graduation. Hokage-sama has been instructing me on how to proceed with all of you, and since we have 2 months until graduation, we're gonna have to work over time. Until graduation, classes will take place every day except Sundays. Mondays and Tuesdays we will be in the classroom with History lectures and discussing tactics; Wednesdays and Fridays, we will be conducting physical exercises; Thursday will be exclusive for chakra related exercises. Saturdays we will make various types of survival simulations. We can also make written tests to make sure you are able to process everything you learn."

Almost all of the classroom erupted at this. More work? Less time to rest? Why was Iruka doing this?

The teacher kept smirking ' _This is why I love teaching in the first place_ ' "Now class, this will only be starting next week. Today we have a very important subject to cover. It's something that was supposed to be covered on your second year of Academy, but due to some... _"unauthorized"_ changes, we can only talk about it now. Most of this is NOT on your books, so you better take some notes. Now..." he smiled at Naruto before continuing. "I'm going to tell you about Uzushiogakure and the Uzumaki clan..."

* * *

 _Graduation day..._

Naruto felt excited. Today was finally the day he'll become a true ninja. Like he promised Hiruzen, he kept training and studying. His _Kage Bunshin_ were a gift from the heavens. Every day he left 3 clones at home before leaving for the Academy. One kept reading the book the Hokage gave him and taking notes of the differences between it and the Academy books. He already read almost everything the book covered about the past Hokages and the Sannin, he was now reading on other famous ninja, like the White Fang, Hatake Sakumo. Another was on chakra control exercises. He took Kõ's warning to heart and always left a cushion near the tree he practiced. The last clone was doing Naruto's new hobby: reading cook books. A few days after the Mizuki incident, he invited Hinata, Sasuke, Iruka, Hiruzen, Teuchi and Ayame to his house to celebrate his birthday. Teuchi gave him a cooking book, saying that 'it may lose me my favourite customer, but you need to have a balanced diet'. He also promised that if Naruto was able to make good cooking, he would give him free ramen for a year. Obviously with the promise of the 'food of the gods', Naruto took this seriously.

Another thing he felt excited for was the test itself. After the reforms Hiruzen did to the Academy curriculum, Naruto went from dead-last to a medium-high ranking between the students. He was already able to beat Kiba, Chouji, and Shikamaru (granted, the lazy genius never was serious in _taijutsu_ sparring) and he was able to go toe-to-toe with Shino. Sasuke was still ahead of him but the distance was closed significantly. So Naruto kept training so he could try and defeat the Uchiha.

Speaking of Sasuke, Naruto couldn't believe he was able to get trough to him! Sure, Sasuke was still a little arrogant, but Naruto knew that that was what he liked to call 'his default emotion'. Sasuke was able to open up to Naruto and both kids understood each other's loneliness, despite the origin of that being different in each case. Since Sasuke knew Naruto's secret, he thought it would be fair if the blonde also knew why Sasuke was, as Naruto called it, 'a emo anti-social'. After explaining what happened with his clan, Naruto smiled and said "Don't worry Sasuke. I know it was hard, but you have me and Hinata-chan as friends. Your brother won't take us from you. I honestly don't think you should stay stuck to the past, but I understand why you feel the need to avenge your family. And if it means that much to you to get even with Itachi, we will help you."

It was with a smile on his face Naruto entered the classroom. He took his place in the top table near the window next to Sasuke and Hinata. By now, everyone was used to see the trio together. That was an almost immediate result to what happened two months before when Hinata stopped Sakura from hitting Naruto. Sasuke asked (well, almost begged) for the Hyuga princess to stop the "horrid demons" from stalking him. At first, Hinata didn't know what to say, but Naruto asked her to do it, just for the pleasure of seeing the last Uchiha begging for something and owing someone.

Iruka entered the classroom. "Good morning class. I hope you all got a good night sleep, because today is the graduation exam. Now, I know that the class has gotten... significantly shorter for the last two months, but that just means you guys are the best of the best."

Iruka was mentioning another result of the Hokage's reform. All of the civilian-born students (except for Sakura) quit the Academy, claiming it was too hard. That lead to most parents complaining to the Hokage, who just stated "if they are quitting so soon in their shinobi career, they aren't even worthy of the title of shinobi".

"Now class, the graduation exam will consist in five parts: the first will be a theoretical exam, which we will do right now. After lunch, we will go to the Academy training field where we will conduct the practical part. It will consist on weapon accuracy, _taijutsu_ \- where you'll also be graduated on physical endurance and stealth - and chakra control. Lastly we will return to the classroom where we will conduct the _ninjutsu_ portion of the exam. We will call you individually and you will have to perform four to five different jutsus. You only need to do the Academy's three E-rank jutsus to pass, but obviously, we want your very best. Now without further ado, here are your written exams. You have two hours to complete it". Iruka finished while distributing the papers.

Naruto readied himself. ' _Alright, I've trained and studied hard for this. I may not get everything right, but I sure as hell won't be the Dead Last. Let's go!_ '

* * *

 _Later..._

Naruto was back in the classroom. The exam was almost over, just the _ninjutsu_ part to go. Honestly, it wasn't as hard as the blonde first imagined. The written exam was his worse performance, but he was already expecting that. Still, he was able to answer all questions, although if he was honest with himself, only half were correct. The practical part was where he shone. He was second on weapon accuracy (he was able to hit nine on ten targets, Sasuke was the only one with the perfect score), he was the best in stealth and physical endurance - Iruka also said he beat the Yondaime's record! - and the _taijutsu_ spar against the scarred Chūnin was above average.

He was now ready for the _ninjutsu_ part of the exam. With Uzumaki as a family name, he was the last to go. He was almost sure that Hinata and Sasuke were able to graduate, so he needed to do it too, in order not to fall behind.

"Uzumaki Naruto, it's your turn! Please enter the room" a voice came from behind the door.

Naruto entered. He found Iruka and two other teachers from the Academy.

"So Naruto, you ready?" Iruka asked.

"Sure, Iruka-sensei. What do you need me to do?" Naruto questioned with a confident smile.

The other male instructor spoke up. "Uzumaki, you will be evaluated on how well you'll do the _jutsus_ we ask for and on how quickly you can do the necessary hand signs. First, we want you to do the _Henge_."

"Sure!" Naruto did a single hand seal, and with a POOF, the figure of Sarutobi Hiruzen was in front of the teachers.

"Only one hand sign. Impressive." a female instructor noted. "Next, I'm going to throw a chair against you. Use the _Kawarimi_ to escape."

"Okay!"

The chair was thrown and Naruto didn't even move. He was hit, but immediately after that, he transformed into one of the various tables of the room.

"No hand seals..." Iruka mused. "You've been practicing Naruto. Now, we usually would ask for you to do the _Bunshin no jutsu_ , but I am aware of your immensely large chakra reserves. So you need to do three extra techniques to pass. What will you do?"

Naruto smirked and did a cross seal. " _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_ " ten more Naruto's appeared next to the original blonde. They all pulled a shuriken and threw it at the wall and did a couple of hand signs. " _Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_ ". The ten shurikens turned into a hundred and they all hit the wall. Naruto then turned back to Iruka. "How's that, sensei?"

Iruka was very proud. "Wow, not only were you able to do the _Kage Bunshin_ but also the _Shuriken Kage Bunshin_! Those are both A-rank _jutsus_!"

"Still, he needs to do one more technique. We all agreed that to compensate the normal _Bunshin_ , he needed three more _jutsus_." The male instructor spoke.

"True" the female instructor began "but two A-rank techniques was not what we were expecting." She then turned to Naruto. "Uzumaki, do you know anything else?"

Naruto thought for a while. He then looked up. One of the clones he left at home dispelled and gave him what he needed. "Yeah! How about this one?" he did a couple of hand signs and clapped his hands. " _Fūton: Reppūshō!_ " ( **AN: Wind style: Gale Palm** ) Naruto released the accumulated wind against the chairs and tables opposite the instructors, knocking them all over.

"Alright, that's enough Naruto." Iruka said. I wasn't expecting you to do a _Fūton_ jutsu already. When did you learn it?"

"Just right now, Iruka-sensei. I left a clone home studying the basic _Fūton_ techniques and he just dispelled" Naruto answered with a smile.

All three instructors were shocked. He was already making use of the _Kage Bunshin_ this much?

"Well, nothing else needs to be said" the other male instructor spoke. "Uzumaki, you pass. Come get your headband and you can leave. We ask you to return in three days for the team assignments."

"YATTA!" Naruto jumped with joy while getting his headband and left with a smile on his face.

* * *

 _Outside..._

Naruto was leaving the Academy. He was so happy. He was finally a ninja! And he knew he impressed the teachers. He may not win the Rookie of the Year award since his written test was passable at best, but he knew the improvement he showed in the last two months was real. He was about to leave the academy grounds when he found Hinata, Sasuke, Hyuga Kõ and Hyuga Hiashi.

"Yo, Hinata-chan, Teme. What are you doing here?" He then remembered Hiashi was there and quickly did a small bow to the two Hyuga adults. "Hello Kõ-san, Hiashi-sama. Please forgive this outburst, but I am very excited for passing the exam."

Kõ just smiled. "It's alright, Uzumaki-san. I am already used to your... let's say enthusiastic speech, and had already informed Hiashi-sama of this."

Hiashi just nodded to the young blonde. "Well, Hinata, we waited for your friend. We need to return to the compound. Just because you graduated, doesn't mean your training is finished. You are doing well on your _Suiton_ version of our _Juuken_. Let's see if you are able to incorporate it to our techniques."

"Yes, Otou-sama." She then turned to Naruto. "Congratulations on becoming a ninja, Naruto-kun. I need to leave now, but if you're free tomorrow, we could train a little together?"

"Sure! I can go pick you up after lunch?" Naruto asked to which Hinata nodded and left with her family. Naruto turned to Sasuke. "How about you, Teme? You wanna join as well?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't see why not. I was about to go home, but Hinata said she was waiting for you, so I decided to wait as well. If you're going to train during the morning, you can find me on our usual training spot. I would like to train a little on my _Katõn_ techniques. Unfortunately, I can't find anything on my clans archives on how to use _Raiton_ chakra"

"Well, think of it this way. Maybe when you have a team and sensei, he can help you?" Naruto suggested.

"Maybe. Well, I got to go home. See you tomorrow, Dobe."

Naruto smirked as Sasuke left. He then proceeded to the Hokage's office. Sarutobi-jiji owed him some explanations

* * *

 _With Hiruzen_

The Hokage had just received the reports of the Academy graduates. He was honestly surprised with some of the results and just thought the reform he did was in fact for the best. There was no Dead Last this year, and the competition for Rookie of the Year was a close one. But for now, he put the papers away. Before thinking of team placements, he had a hyperactive blonde waiting for some explanations.

As soon as he finished his train of thoughts, he heard someone knock on his door. "Enter."

Naruto entered the room, and seeing no one was there he proceeded to hug Hiruzen. "Hey, Jiji. How are you? Do you see this? I'm a ninja now! And you need to keep your side of the bargain we did a few months back!" he started enthusiastically while pointing to his headband.

Hiruzen chuckled. "Yes, Naruto-kun. Congratulations. In fact, I was just seeing the reports on the graduates. You almost had the Rookie of the Year spot. In fact, if it was not for your written test, you could have grabbed the prize."

"Really?" Naruto asked, almost not-believing the Hokage.

Hiruzen just chuckled again. "It's true Naruto-kun. But enough of that. Now if I remember correctly, you want to know a little bit more about your mother, correct?"

Naruto straightened and sat in front of the Hokage. His face turned serious for a while. "Yes. I would like to know a little more about her. Iruka-sensei explained more about the Uzumaki clan these last months, but I would like to know about her. Who was her? Why did she come to Konoha? What happened to her?"

Hiruzen also took a serious expression. "Naruto-kun, most of this is classified. I will tell you what you can know based on the fact you are just a fresh Genin. When you reach the rank of Chunin, I will be able to tell you more." Naruto was about to protest, but Hiruzen just raised his hand. "It's not that I don't trust you, Naruto-kun. Not only do you need the mindset of a Chunin to understand some of the information I will pass at the time, but it was also on your mother's will that you learned more only when you reached said rank."

Naruto just silenced himself. "Very well. I understand Ji... I mean, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen smiled. Naruto was learning. That was for sure. "Very well. So let's begin. So your mother's name was Uzumaki Kushina. She was one of the most powerful and talented kunoichis we had on our ranks. In fact, she was only second to my own student, Tsunade. She was sent to Konoha when Uzu fell, I already told you about that. What I didn't tell you, was why she was chosen to stay in Konoha." Hiruzen took a small smoke and sighed. "People of the Uzumaki clan are special in various ways, Naruto-kun. One of which, is the great affinity they have for _fuinjutsu_. You will find a little more about that on the book I gave you. Another trait of the Uzumaki is their chakra. Not only the reserves are larger than the average shinobi, their chakra is powerful enough to endure the power of a Bijuu."

Naruto's eyes widened at this. "Wait... so you're trying to say that...?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun. Kushina was the previous Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. That is one of the main reasons you had to carry the burden after her death. You see, the seal on a Bijuu weakens if the Jinchuuriki is a pregnant woman. Unfortunately, Kushina was unable to keep the beast at bay when you were born, and she died a little after that."

Naruto wept some tears. Her mother died indirectly because of him. "So... if I hadn't been born, she would still be okay... It's my fault she's dead..."

Hiruzen went to Naruto and gave the boy a grandfatherly hug. "Don't say that. Don't even think that. Kushina was over the moon when she found out she was pregnant. Even with the complications of being a Jinchuuriki, the labor should have come through without much trouble. The Yondaime was there to make sure the Kyuubi wouldn't free itself. It was an unfortunate twist of fate which let to their deaths. I also lost my wife, Biwako, on that night. And there isn't a day when I don't think I should have been able to save her. But we are shinobi, Naruto-kun. Our job is to endure the pain and let it make us stronger so that no other tragedies happen again."

Naruto returned the hug and just sobbed for a few more minutes. "I... I think I understand, Jiji. It's not my fault. And it's not your fault too. I mean, the Yondaime had to sacrifice himself to seal it in me... You know, I should be sad and angry at him for sealing that monster inside me, but at the same time, I understand why he did it. Like you said, it takes an Uzumaki to endure the nasty chakra of a Bijuu like the Kyuubi. That makes me wonder, was the wife of the Shodai a Jinchuuriki too?"

Hiruzen let Naruto go and nodded. "I see you're being able to connect the various dots with the pieces you're getting from our various talks. That's a great thing. Now, let's get some Ichiraku's. I'll get Iruka and the three of us will celebrate your graduation and I'll tell you more about your mother." They both stood up. Naruto took Hiruzen's hand and they started to leave the Hokage's office. "Did you know your mother had the most funny of nicknames while she was on the Academy? The Red-Hot Habanero..."

* * *

 _A few days later..._

Naruto opened the door of the Academy classroom. Today was the last day he had to be there. Iruka-sensei was going to announce the teams. He wished he could be with Hinata. He took his seat next to the Hyuga princess. "Good morning, Hinata-chan. You ready to know who's going to be your teammates?"

Hinata smiled to the blonde and nodded. "Good morning, Naruto-kun. I am. I would like for us to be in a team, but I'm not sure what the criteria was."

Sasuke had just arrived and sat on the row behind Naruto and joined the conversation. "I just don't want to be with any of the fangirls. I admit, after Hinata scared Sakura two months ago, they've stopped being so annoying, but I'm not sure if I could rely on them during a mission or for my goals."

Iruka entered the room and all chatter stopped. "Congratulations, all of you. With all the reforms made to the Academy curriculum, we had lots of dropouts, but that also means you are the best of the best." He took a piece of paper. "Now I'll announce the teams. Since Teams One to Six are still operational, as is team Nine, let's start with Team Seven: Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuga Hinata. Your sensei will be Hatake Kakashi."

Sasuke gave an honest smile. He would be in a team with people he knew were at his level. Hinata smiled as well. ' _I'm in a team with Naruto-kun..._ '

"Wow! I'm both with Hinata-chan and the Teme? What gives Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Well Naruto, usually we would put the Dead Last along the top two graduates to balance the teams. However, upon further hindsight, Hokage-sama realized that only one team in all of Konoha history that was assembled like that actually worked. I'm speaking of the Legendary Sannin." Iruka explained. "So for this year, Hokage-sama, assembled teams in which everyone would be at a balanced level, or because it would be the most beneficial for the team itself. For example, your team is obviously an assault team that can use a lot of different firepower."

Naruto nodded and just then he received info from one of his clones. ' _Wait, Hatake? Maybe he's the song of the famous White Fang?_ '

Iruka looked at the paper again. "Now, moving on... Team Eight: Haruno Sakura, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba. Your sensei will be Yuuhi Kurenai. This team was formed with a tracking mindset. Also, Sakura. With your amazing chakra control, you could develop some sensor skills to help your teammates."

Sakura made a small frown. She was still upset for not being with Sasuke, but she did understand Iruka. And after the humiliation she suffered from Hinata, she would train even harder. ' _Just you wait, princess. I will be able to beat you and Sasuke-kun will finally realize we are meant to be together._ _ **SHANAROO!**_ '

"Lastly, Team Ten. Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji, Nara Shikamaru. Your sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma. This team was assembled due to the skills of your three clans complementing each other. You will serve as tactical support and capture." Iruka finished.

Ino wanted to protest that he got the lazy and fatso, but then she realized Iruka's words made sense. She just huffed and turned to her new teammates. "Listen up, we will be the best Genin team. No questions asked! Got it?"

Choji mumbled something while munching on his chips. Shikamaru only sighed. ' _Troublesome..._ '

"Your Jonin-senseis will come a little bit after 1pm. Until then, you are all dismissed."

* * *

 _Later..._

A pair of adult ninjas opened the door. The man had the standard Konoha get-up, brown eyes, olive skin, short black spiky hair, and a beard. He also wore a sash that had the kanji for "Fire" marked on it around his waist. The woman was wearing what looked like bandages, with a pattern on it similar to those of rose thorns. She had long black hair and red eyes.

"Team Ten, I'm Sarutobi Asuma. Come with me." the man said.

"Team Eight, I'm Yuuhi Kurenai. With me." The woman said.

The two teams left, leaving Team Seven in the classroom waiting for their sensei...

One hour later, and still no one came. Naruto quickly became bored. "Oh I know, how about we play cards until that sensei of ours arrive?" he asked.

"Meh, I don't see why not." Sasuke answered.

"Sure, Naruto-kun." Hinata said.

With another hour passed, the card game long forgotten and the three Genin were getting frustrated.

"Man, do you think he forgot about us?" Naruto questioned.

"M-maybe he had another assignment?" Hinata suggested.

"Doubt it. He should know that he is going to get a Genin team. It would be stupid to forget about it." Sasuke opined.

A mischievous smirk appeared on Naruto's face. "Well, I think he's gonna regret being late. Hinata-chan, can you see with your Byakugan if anyone's here? Teme, would you mind helping me with this?"

Both clan heirs realized what the blond was talking about. And so a trap was made.

* * *

 _Three hours since Naruto returned to the classroom_

A silver haired Jonin opened the classroom door. He was greeted by a few blonde maids with... excessive assets. Kakashi tried it's best to keep comfortable. But then one of the maids grabbed his arm.

"Ohhh Hatake-sama, why don't you join us for dinner?" She asked in a very sensual tone.

Kakashi only let out a nose bleed and dropped on the floor. A poof of smoke was heard and the maid turned into Naruto. "Ahahahah! Wow guys, you were right! This is way better than just having them appearing nude! Thanks!"

Kakashi groaned. He should have expected some kind of prank from Naruto. He was keeping an eye on him for the last two months. But despite how much mental training the last Hatake had, it wasn't enough for this.

"I see you already devised some sort of plan as a team. That's a good start. My name is Hatake Kakashi and if that was just a glimpse of what you can do... I am a little impressed." he said groggily as he was standing up.

"Kakashi-sensei, is there any reason for this tardiness?" Hinata asked.

"Oh it's simple. I just got lost in the road of life and when I realized it I was on the other end of the village."

Hinata nodded but both boys had the same thought. " _What a blatant lie!_ "

"Anyway, we need to make some introductions. Meet me on the roof in ten minutes, also known as five minutes. Go." And with that he disappeared in a poof of smoke.

All three Genin ran out of the classroom.

* * *

 _At the roof..._

"Well, it took you exactly four minutes and fifty-two seconds to get here. Meh, not bad." Kakashi shrugged. "So like I said before, we're gonna introduce ourselves."

"Is there anything in particular we should say?" Sasuke asked.

"Hmmm... I guess your likes, dislikes, hobbies, short-term plans and dreams for the future. I'll start so you'll have an idea. My name, like I said before, is Hatake Kakashi. My likes include reading. I don't feel I trust you enough to say my dislikes. Hobbies are things that are not suitable for your age. Short-term plans... well, just wait and see. Dreams... Hmmm... There, like that. Now, your turn."

The tree kids just stood there. "So basically you're only going to tell us your name and that you like reading?" Naruto questioned.

"Yes. When I feel you earned my trust and respect, you may know a little more about me. As a bonus, know this: I am currently the most powerful ninja Konoha has to offer. Besides Hokage-sama, that is. So you should feel lucky that I'm wasting my time on having students." Kakashi finished with an eye-smile. "Now, since you like to talk, how about you introduce yourself, Blondie"

"Alright! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, training and my friends. My dislikes are my birthday, prejudiced people who can't figure out the difference between a kunai and the scroll it's sealed into (Kakashi noticed the iciness and sadness on this particular part) and the five minutes it takes the ramen to cool down. My hobbies include cooking, gardening, training and spending time with my friends. For now I want to be a great ninja like the Sannin, the White Fang or Hokage-jiji. My dream is to become the best Hokage in history and since I recently discovered I'm part of a clan, I would also like to reunite whatever survivor may still exist."

Kakashi smiled at the end of Naruto's little introduction. "Well, if that's your goal, then you're going to train like a horse" he then turned to Hinata. "You next, Princess."

"My name is Hyuga Hinata. I like cinnamon rolls, and taking walks. I dislike the division currently in my clan and I dislike people who are mean without any reason. My hobbies include..." she looked briefly to Naruto and blushed slightly. While she could now talk to the blonde without stuttering, it was still hard. "... walking around Konoha. I wish to become a powerful kunoichi like my father, but sweet like my mother. And I wish to end the division of the Hyuga clan."

"Hmmm... a dreamer at heart. Let's see if you are able to be that kind of kunoichi." Kakashi commented before turning to Sasuke. "Your turn, Edge Lord."

Naruto laughed at the nickname but was silenced by the glare Sasuke gave him. The last Uchiha then scoffed and turned to their sensei. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like training and being alone with my thoughts. I dislike fangirls, very crowded places and crows. My hobbies include getting stronger. My dream is to restore the Uchiha clan to it's former glory and kill the man responsible for the demise of my family. For that, I need to become a strong enough ninja and have strong teammates."

" _Hmmm... Although he DID assume he's an avenger, it seems Naruto's company is helping him seeing the bigger picture. We'll keep working on that._ Okay, now that introductions are out of the way, there's something very important I need to tell you. Now, usually I would say, you three aren't ninjas yet" the three Genin seemed like they were going to shout but Kakashi raised his hand. "However, due to your performance earlier, I was able to see you are already a team. I value the strength of teamwork above else, and I see you already grasped the conceit. But, I still need to see what you are capable of. Remember, ninjas are able to see underneath the underneath. So just because you got me off-guard doesn't mean you are shinobi material yet. So tomorrow we'll be doing a survival exercise. And trust me, it will be nothing like the ones at the Academy." Kakashi stood up. "Meet me tomorrow at six in the morning at Training Ground Seven. Also, I suggest you don't eat breakfast, or you'll just throw up. Bye" and he vanished again in a poof of smoke.

Naruto turned to his teammates. "So... do you guys wanna get some ramen? We could discuss some strategies for tomorrow"

And the three headed to Ichiraku's.

* * *

 **And I FINALLY was able to update something. Not going to lie, it's being harder and harder to find time to write. And when I do have time, I may not be focused or with inspiration. Like it's on the description, I do want to finish this story (and the other one too, go check it out if you want to), but I'll do this at my pace.**

 **Catch you later on chapter 6, _Team Seven!_**


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